Stamp inking apparatus



g INVENTOR. it George E Rycfimazz. 65....

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1; gwaazvtx s G E RYCKMAN STAMP INKING APPARATUS March 31, 1953 Filed m 8, 1950 March 31, 1953 G. E. RYGKMAN 2,633,078

STAMP INKING APPARATUS Filed July 8, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4;

I mmvrox George E Rye/ mam (Dhaka HIS JWIOHNEYS Match 31, 1953 G. E. RYCKMAN 2,633,078

' STAMP INKING APPARATUS.

Filed July 8, 1950 I '3 Shets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

'eozye E Eyck/man.

Patented Mar. 31, 1953 y. I.

UNITED [STATES PATENT OFFICEf v 7 7 i i 2,633,018 l f L s'rAMP' ,INKING APPAR TUS George E; Ryckrnan, Edgewood,,'l?a;, assignor to Miller Pottery Engineering Company, Swissstale, Pa e corporation of jPennsylvania' A 4 I f pplieation J lys. 1950, Serial No. 172,747

This "invention relates to apparatus gior "inkin stamps that decorate diniierwarearid'othei' articles," and. more "particularly to inking apparatus for use with the decorating machine shown in my cop'ending patent appli'cation,j Serial No.

2612.10 i i i H i It is among the objects of thisinventionto provide inking apparatus (in "whichthe ink is spread evenly over theinking roller, in which the" supply of ink tothe inking roller. ean'fbe closely controlled, 'ir i'which the supply of ink to the inking roller 'can be' stopped without stopping rotation of the roller, and in which the inking roller is mountedto swing froman operating position to" 'ajnonoperating'" position. 1

. The preferred embodimentjof theinvention is illustrated in thejaecompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view, partly, in "vertical section, showing the inking apparatusin operating position relative to a decoration stamping inaehine; Fig, 2 is ahorizontal section takenon the line II II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is'jan enlargedplan viewof the apparatus; Fig. 4 is a cross section takenon the line Iv -IV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 isa fragmentary vertical section taken. on the line vi-v of Fig. 3,; "Fig. s s aview of the "innere'nd of the apparatus F gs. "(and 8 are" cross sections takenon; the lines VII -FVII' and ,VIII1 VII I respectively; of Fig. 3; Fig.l9 is a fragmentary horigontal section takenon the liriejIX-fIX of Fig.7 f nd Fig; '10 is afragmentaryjseotion taken on the 1ineX-XofFig.7.f I Re er n t i o the, raw g h 'w tinuously rotatihg tablej II of a dinnerwaredeq rating machine'ilike that shownimmyabove mentioned copending patent. application" is mounted on the; continuously rotating center shaft lot the machine. ;'E;;tendingfradially away fromfthelower end Of'this shaft is a'1egf3,,on the outer end of which abox .4 is mounted; Rigidly mounted'lonf top of this boxis a hollow vertical'post' t that supports Ta earing-g1. at its upper'end. 'Aftube 8 is rigidly. mounted in this hearing and extends. down throughflthe postlan'd through a jcircular opening in the topfo'f .thefbox. The tube can" be turnedin the post' for pur pose to :he explained; later, but its rotation is limited to about 90 bymeansofstops 9 project ing rromlp inside thepostg hese stops'wiugem post, in which a; hand screw I 2. isthreaded; The inner endof theiscrew is pointed so that "tcan pr je o her T wasest sesl 3. athe sid Qi;; T-;I.i! has. sten ie qr look n age a bushing ll mounted in'jthef'side of the I scalin (01.101451) the tube in either of two, positions about apart. V v --'Bal1 bearings M are mounted in theopposite ends of the tube to support a verticaldrive shaft it. that extends above and below them. This shaft isdriven from its lower end by a chain l1 an sprocket l8 which are driven from the main drive. ofjthema'chine (not shown). The upper 'ehdof'tube 8' extends through a long horizontal b ed"plate l9 that is'rigidly mounted on hearing This'hed plate supports the rollers by which ink is transferred from awe'll ior fountain to, the "decorating stamps that'are carried bythe machine. Y 1 l.

f The largest one ofthese'rol1ers is the metal inking roller 2i; shown in Figs. 1, 3, 6 and 7, which the stamps 22 pass over as they are car ried around the machine. .When the inking roller is in operating. position as shown,v its axis is radial of the machine, table. The inking roller is rigidly mounted on a horizontal shaft 23, the inner or machine end of whichisjo'urnaled in a bearingzll supported by the inner end of bed plate '19. The other (end of the shaft extends outward throughspaced bearings 26 and 21 sup ported. from the plate and into a bearing 28 supported by a braoket 29 also mounted on the plate. The'inking roller shaft 'iS driven. continuously by vertical drive shaft 1 6through 'bevel gears 3| and; 32; IllOllIllldjfOll the; two shafts; "Preferably, the linear speedof the'inking rolleris the'saine as the linearspeed of thecenters of thestamps as they travel around the'eenter shaft-.1;

Disposed at one sidelof the inking roller is'a Urshape frame 3 l iin which two vertically spaced hacking rollers 35 and 36 are i urnaled in paral lel relation. These rollers are made ofmetal. The loo'ttom of the framefis pivotall'y supported by, h izontal pivot pins 31 supported by the 1 bed plate, whereby the frame can". be swung toward the inking roller by means 'otooil springs 3,8 that eonnect its; upper ends; to the upper ends", or a. pai of arms 39 on 'theopposite side of the inking roller Shaft; T we sn slef es m rerigidly'conneeted 19y ahorizontal. barfil and are pivotally supportedby pivots AZ IIJOIlHf/fid on-the hed plate. The center otthe ban-has an outw rd yproi ins; bi xc tedlug 4.3 ha strad les ser e-w 4d rigidly mounted inpthe'loed; plate. .uA large nut 4 5 is threaded on the upper end .of this screw -andpresses downon theiugi: By adjustingthe nut up and down, arms39 can be swung toward. and awayjrommhe inking roller shaft to varythetensi npnthecpilsprings; v1.

4i spreading ;rollen;51.:made of rubber; or. similar resilient material, is disposed between and in engagement with the inking roller and the two backing rollers. That is, the spring-biased backing rollers press the spreading roller against the side of the inking roller. The spreading roller is considerably longer than the other rollers and has its outer end connected by a universal joint to one end of a link 48, the opposite end of which is connected by a universal joint to a stub shaft 49 rotatably mounted in a bracket 5|. The stub shaft cannot be moved axially relative to the bracket, but must move with the bracket. The link 48 extends through a horizontal tube 52 that is connected at one end to a plate 53 fastened to the bracket. Thi tube prevents the link from dropping down when it is disconnected from the spreading roller.

The bracket 5! is joined to a yoke 55 that has its opposite sides supported and guided by two pairs of horizontal rollers 56 and one pair of vertical rollers .51, all supported from the bed plate, so that the yoke can be reciprocated lengthwise of the plate without moving vertically or sidewise. The opposite sides of the yoke are connected by a central portion provided with a transverse slot 58. Fitted in this slot is a roller 59 which is carried by one end of an arm 6|, the opposite end of which is attached to a worm gear 62 mounted on the lower end of a short vertical shaft 63 journaled in the bracket 29 above it, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. h The gear is rotated continuously by a worm 64 mounted on the inking roller shaft 23 beside it. Consequently, as the gears revolve, roller 59 moves back and forth in the yoke slot and thereby reciprocates the yoke. This motion is transmitted through bracket 51 and link 48 to spreading roller 41, which therefore is slid back and forth between the horizontal rollers that support it. At the same time, the spreading roller is rotated continuously by frictional contact with the driven inking roller, and the spreading roller in turn rotates the backing rollers continuously.

Spaced behind the lower backing roller 35 is a parallel fountain roller 66, the ends of which are journaled in upright bearing blocks 61 mounted on the bed plate. The fountain roller is made of metal. The upper portions of the bearing blocks are connected behind the fountain roller by a heavy bar 68 that has a lower edge close to the roller from which the bar is inclined upward and away. A doctor blade 69 engages the inner face of this bar and has its upper edge attached to it by screws 1 l The lower edge of the blade extends along the fountain roller very close to it, and can be pressed against the roller with uniform pressure by means of closely spaced set screws 12 mounted in the bar. In the space between the bar and the fountain roller at the opposite ends of the roller there are triangular sealing members 73, so that a trough or well or fountain is formed between them for receiving a supply of ink. By ink" is meant any decorating fluid that it may be desired to use, such as ceramic colors.

It will be seen that if the fountain roller is rotated in a clockwise direction as. viewed in Fig. '1, it will draw ink out of the bottom of the fountain on its surface. The thickness of the film of ink adhering to the roller is controlled by adjusting the set screws 12 engaging the doctor blade. To further control the rate at which ink is removed by the fountain roller from the fountain, the roller preferably is rotated intermittently. For this purpose the outer end of the roller projects from the outer bearing block 61 and has a clutch plate 15 oscillatably mounted on it as shown in Figs. 3 and 8. One end of a coil spring clutch I6 is attached to this plate, the rest of the spring tightly encircling the projecting end of the roller. When the clutch plate is swung in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 8, the spring will tighten still more around the roller and turn it. When the plate is swung in the opposite direction, the coils of the spring clutch will expand and slip on the roller without turning it. A similar coil spring clutch TI on the projecting opposite end of the fountain roller helps prevent reverse rotation of the roller by tightening itself on the roller when the other spring clutch loosens itself. The periphery of the clutch plate associated with coil spring clutch I1 is provided with a hole for receiving a bar for manually rocking the plate to test the action of the doctor blade in making an initial setup. The clutch plate '15 is oscillated by means of a link I8 that has one end pivotally connected to the top of the plate, The other end of the link is forked and pivotally connected to a nut 79 threaded on an upright screw 8| which is journaled in a lever arm 82. The arm is rigidly mounted on one end of a horizontal rocker shaft 83 whose opposite ends are journaled in bearings on the bed p1ate. The upper end of the lever arm carries a roller 86 which engages a cam 81 mounted on the hiking roller shaft. As this cam rotates, it causes the lever arm to swing back and forth to operate the fountain roller clutch. By turning screw 8|, the lower end of link 18 can be adjusted up of down and therefore the throw of the clutch plate will be varied in order to vary the number of degrees that the fountain roner is turned each time clutch spring 16 grips it.

In order to hold the cam roller 86 against the cam at all times, the opposite end of rocker shaft 83 is provided with an arm 88 that extends down through a slot 89 in the bed plate as shown in Fig. 7. Below the plate this arm is pivotally connected to a rod 9| that extends laterally into a sleeve 92, Insidethe sleeve there is a coil spring 93 which is compressed between the end of the rod and the opposite end of the sleeve. At the latter end of the sleeve a pointed end 'projects into a depression in a block 94 suspended from the bed plate. The coil spring therefore urges the arm away from the block and thus keeps the cam roller swung up against cam 81. Due to the fact that the fountain roller rotates intermittently while the backing rollers rotate continuously at a rather high speed, it is desirable to transfer ink from the fountain roller to one of the backing" rollers by an element which can engage only one roller at a time. Y For this purpose a transfer roller 96 is provided and is disposed in the space between the fountain roller and the lower backing roller 35. The diameter of the transfer roller is less than the distance between the two adjacent rollers so that the transfer roner' cannot engage both of the other rollers at the same time. The transfer roller may be made of the same material as the spread- .ing roller. For moving the transfer roller back and forth between the adjacent rollers, it is ournaled in the opposite ends of an inverted U- shape frame 91, the top of which is pivotally supported by pivot pins 9'8 mounted in the back ing roller frame 34. One end of the transfer roller frame projects down into bed plate slot 89 and pivotally' connected to the upper end of a rod 99 that extends down through the slot. As shown in Figs. 7 and 10, the lower end of this rod extends slidably through the hollow portion of a horizontal pin llll that is rotatably mounted in the lower end of arm 88. Inside this hollow pin there is a plunger 102 that is pressed tightly against the rod by a coil spring I03 compressed between the plunger and a screw plug I04 in the outer end of the pin. The friction between the plunger and rod is great enough so that in normal operation the oscillating arm 88 will transmit its motion through the rod to the transfer frame and thereby swing the transfer roller first into engagement with the fountain roller and then back into engagement with the rotating lower backing roller.

When it becomes desirable to stop feeding ink to the inking roller, the oscillations of transfer frame 91 are stopped by swinging a stop member I06, which is pivotally mounted at [0! on the bed plate as shown in Figs. 7 and 9, into position behind the frame so that the frame cannot swing toward the fountain roller. However, the inking roller can continue to rotate and rocker shaft 83 can continue to oscillate, because hollow pin [0| can slide back and forth on rod 99.

Each decorating stamp that passes across the top of the inking roller preferably is rotatable on a vertical axis. As the stamp starts to leave the inking apparatus the forward side of the stamp will engage a horizontal bar I08 which is in its path. One end of this bar is supported by a sleeve 109 oscillatably mounted on a post Ill mounted on the bed plate. Turning of the sleeve is restrained by a coil spring H2 attached to it and to the post as shown in Fig. 8. As the stamp travels ahead its frictional engagement with the bar causes the stamp to rotate a few degrees until the end of the bar slips off the stamp and swings back to its normal position.

In order to service this apparatus the bed plate can be swung laterally to position the entire apparatus beside table I where it is easy to reach. This is done after hand screw I2 in post 6 has been retracted to permit tube 8 to be turned therein.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim;

1. Apparatus for inking a stamp, comprising a continuously rotating horizontal inking roller, a spreading roller extending along the inking roller in engagement with it, a backing roller engaging the spreading roller, a fountain roller spaced from the backing roller, a doctor blade extending along one side of the fountain roller with its lower edge close to that roller to form an ink-receiving well between them, a transfer roller journaled between the fountain roller and backing roller, rocker means, means connected to said rocker means and actuated thereby for intermittently rotating the fountain roller, means connected to said rocker means for moving the transfer roller back and forth between the fountain roller and backing roller and including a yielding friction connection, means for adjusting the friction in said connection to vary the pressure of the transfer roller against the fountain and backing rollers and a manually operable member for stopping said movement of the transfer roller while the rocker means continues to rock.

2. Apparatus for inking a stamp, comprising a continuously rotating horizontal inking roller, a floating spreading roller extending along the inking roller, a backing roller holding the spreading roller in engagement with the inking roller, a reciprocal member, a support for said member, continuously rotating means for reciprocating said member along said support lengthwise of the rollers, means including a universal joint connecting said member with the spreading roller to reciprocate the latter, an ink fountain, and means for transferring ink from the fountain to the spreading roller.

3. Apparatus for inking a stamp, comprising a vertical hollow post mounted in fixed position, a rotatable tube extending through the post and supported thereby, a horizontal bed plate supported by the upper end of the tube, a drive shaft extending through the tube and plate, means connected to the lower end of the shaft for driving it, a horizontal shaft rotatably supported by said plate and driven by said drive shaft, an inking roller on the plate driven by said driven shaft, an ink fountain on said plate, means for transferring ink from the fountain to the inking roller and manually operable means for normally holding said tube stationary in the post but releasable to permit the tube to be turned in order to swing said plate laterally to another position' GEORGE E. RYCKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

